Pay, pensions and health insurance premiums are all going up in the next several months. But definitely not at the same rate, says Senior Correspondent Mike Causey. White collar workers know what their January 2015 raise will be. But the cost of living adjustment for retirees is still to be decided, and new (and in some cases higher) health premiums will be unveiled in October.

The Office of Personnel Management just issued a final rule that lets a subset of federal employees enroll in or switch dental and vision plans outside of the open enrollment periods. The amendment goes into effect next month.

While federal employees gave high marks on usefulness and importance to the Thrift Savings Plan, only a small percentage said they had flexible spending accounts because they saw little value in the program. The results are part of a survey that OPM has been doing since 2004 to gauge worker opinions on the health and wellness benefits it offers.

Crushing medical bills are the leading cause of bankruptcy. But you can avoid that by choosing one of the many federal health plans, and picking one that limits your maximum out-of-pocket costs, Senior Correspondent Mike Causey says.

The FEHBP Drug Integrity, Transparency and Cost Savings Act would give OPM more oversight of contracts and pricing methods. Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.) said the bill would save the government billions.

In inspirational movies, a heroic general often
says things like, "failure is not an option."
And that's silly, of course, because failure is
always an option and that's especially true for
millions of current and former federal workers -
some of whom are sleepwalking their way through
the health insurance hunting season, Senior
Correspondent Mike Causey says.